Neighbors Complain About New Haven Gun Range

Police use the gun range on Sherman Parkway for training purposes

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Neighbors have complained about the noise generated by a law enforcement gun range on Sherman Parkway in New Haven.

New Haven residents have ramped up complaints about the noise being generated by a law enforcement gun range in the city.

“On a regular basis, that gun range goes off five days a week from at least 10 o'clock in the morning till three in the afternoon,” Brother Born told Gov. Dannel Malloy during the governor's visit on Monday.

Born says the sounds of gunfire constantly plague the neighborhood when federal, state and local law enforcement officers are using the gun range for training.

“You can hear it from Sherman Parkway to Winchester Avenue!” he said.

Neighbors are sick of it, and the City of New Haven is hearing their complaints.

“It's a big source of concern. We'd use the range a lot more if it wasn't such an imposition on the neighborhood," said Rob Smuts, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of New Haven. "A lot of agencies want to use it and we end up saying no to them because we try to keep it to a minimum.”

The City has been working to build an indoor range, one where no one would be disturbed by gunfire. After years of searching for where to put it, city officials have finally found a place.

“We took possession of the former Libby Army Reserve Center up on Wintergreen Avenue, and that's the perfect location for this. So we finally have the location in hand after working on it for many years,” said Smuts.

New Haven will need $3 million to $5 million to fund it. The city already received a $225,000 grant from the federal government to help design the new gun range and get the proper permits.

“Once we have that in hand, then we'll really try to get federal funding for it or ask our Board of Aldermen to appropriate funding to build a range,” Smuts said.